Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-26

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many countries, people do not recycle their rubbish as much as they could.

Why do you think this is?

What can be done to change this?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.0)

nowadays, recycling is an their important issue in many countries.

however, many people do not recycle their rubbish as much as they could. in my opinion, this happens for several reasons, and some simple solutions can help to improve the situation .

firstly, one main reason is that many people do not have enough information about recycling . they may not know which materials con help environment . for example some people throw plastic bottles and paper into normal rubbish because they do not know where to put them . secondly, recycling can be difficult when there are not enough recycliing bins in neighbourhoods . as a result, people may choose the easiest way and put all their rubbish in one bin .

there are Sevel ways to change this situation. governments should provide more recycling bins places and residing easy

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, as it is only 141 words long. Consequently, the ideas are significantly underdeveloped. While you identify two reasons for the lack of recycling (lack of information and lack of infrastructure) and begin to suggest solutions, the essay is incomplete. The conclusion is cut off, and the development of ideas is insufficient to address the prompt fully. To improve, you must expand on your points with more detailed explanations and specific examples, ensuring you reach the required length to allow for a full discussion of both parts of the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay uses basic cohesive devices such as 'firstly', 'secondly', and 'as a result' to link ideas, which provides a degree of logical flow. However, the paragraphing is incomplete, and the abrupt ending disrupts the overall coherence. The progression of ideas is clear but limited by the brevity of the text. To achieve a higher score, you should focus on developing full paragraphs with clear topic sentences and ensuring that your ideas are connected more fluidly throughout the entire response, including a proper introduction and a completed conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally appropriate for the topic but remains quite basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'important issue', 'many people', and 'recycling bins' are functional but lack the range expected for higher bands. There are also minor errors, such as 'residing' (likely meant 'recycling') and 'con help environment' (missing articles and prepositions). To improve, you should aim to incorporate more precise terminology related to environmental issues and sustainability, and ensure that your word choices are accurate and varied throughout the essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains several grammatical errors, including missing articles ('the environment'), incorrect word forms ('recycliing'), and punctuation issues (spacing before commas). The sentence structures are mostly simple, with limited attempts at complex sentences. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of errors and the lack of structural variety limit the score. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, including correct subject-verb agreement and the proper use of articles, before attempting more complex grammatical structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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